Stenographic writing-machine.



A. B. EDWARDS. STENOGRAPHIC WRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5.19M

.7 7?!" 6722297; Zv'azzzzzizzis" Patented I). H, 1919.

R g r XLIG s Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

A. B. EDWARDS.

A vucmou men mus 5. 19:5.

STENOGRAPHIC WRITING MACHINE.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ALnm B. EDWARDS, or oovmG'roN, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MEETS, TO SHORTWRITER COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE A BID CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

STENOGRAPHIC WRITING-MACHINE.

To all whom it mag concern:

"Be it known that I, Arman B. Enwanns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Covington, in the county of Kenton.

single case keyboard, and the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of elements shown in the drawings and hereinafter described and set forth in the appended claim.

Among the objects of the invention is to greatly multiply the capacity of a writing inachineemploying a single case" keyboard Without increasing the number of keys in the keyboard and corresponding type on the typ'eheads, I

A further object of the invention is to diflierentiate the selected letters of the alpha bet employed on the keyboard so that each character may be used in its natural signifi- V canoe to designate a letter or a code charactor of the system in one use thereof, and to designate an entirely different character in another use thereof, means being provided to Visually differentiate the significance of the characters on the printed record, so that no possible confusion can occur in reading a record made up of characters so differentiated;

Anotheriobject of the invention is to simplify the code representations for missing letters of the alphabet which do not appear on the face of the keyboard. By our improved arrangement we are able to represent almost eyery missing letter by operating but a sigl key, and never more than two keys.

In order to represent missing letters all other sin 1e case machines known to the artv employ rom three to six letters struck in combination to reprcprescnt a missing letter which necessarily places a burden on the Specification OfLBttel'S Patent.

Application filed June 5, 1915. -Seria1No.32,265.

mind of the operator in writing and likewise the one who reads the written record.

Another object of the invention is to place the control of the ribbon shifting mecha nism directly under the hands of the opera- .tor, and, being so placed, easily and quickly operated without it being neccssar tomove the hands from the regular ope ating positions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ribbon guide and shifting mechanism that will carry a two-color ribbon evenly and regularly in front of a row of type which are operated. to print simultaneously in a straight line, the ribbon guides being spaced apart a distance greater than the total length of a line of type which may be rinted at one time.

1 mother object of the invention is to provide a ready, simple and accessible lock for a two-color ribbon shitting device when shifted from one field of the ribbon to another.

In practically carrying my invention into practice or applying my improvements to a writing machine, I provide a single case keyboard which bears a selected number of the letters of the alphabet or other charac ters if desired, the keys of the keyboard being arranged in groups to facilitate the manipulation of the keys by the fingers and thumbs ofthe two hands of the operator, whereby a number of keys may be simultaneously depressed in certain combinations to compose in like combinations the type imprints on the record sheet or slip, in a manner familiar instenographic writing practice. In addition thereto, there is provided a two-color ribbon through which the imprints are made by the type, with means for shifting the same to present the two fields of color alternately to the printing line, so that the type character appropriated tocach key may be written in either of the colors of, the ribbon. In the practical adaptation of my system, the characters als, punctuation marks, or prefixes and suffixes.

I have shown in the drawings one prac- Figure 1 is a plan view,

andthe related keybars of a writing ma chine to which my invention may be applied.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentar transverse, longitudinal vertical section 5 owing certain elements of the writin mechanism and show ing also the two co or ribbon shifting device. Fig. 3 is a detail of the ribbon shift guide.

Fig. 4 is a detail illustrating the manner of locking the ribbon shift mechanism.

The keyboard shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings is divided into three groups of keys designated by A, B and C. The groups A and B are arranged at the sides of the machine and symmetrically with respect to the central group tends forwardly from the side ro'ups.

The keys of groups A and B ear certain consonants of the alphabet which. are selected with respect to their frequent occurrence in written language and are arranged relatively to each other with respect to the facility or ease of combining them to produce or represent missing letters, compound sounds or prefixes and suffixes of words, the letters of group A beingl thus combined to represent prefixes and t e letters of group B being combined to produce suffixes of words. The keys of the group C bear certain vowels of the alphabet.

In accordance with my invention, and as it will be more full understood when the mechanical adaptatilin of the inventionis hereinafter described,the character of each key of each on ma be printed in difierentiating co ors y s ifting the two color ribbon employed, so that each of said characters when printed in one color may be used in its natural significance or to present a compound sound of which the letter is en 'gestive, and when printed in another co or, will acquire an entirel diiferent sig nificance which may be use arbitrarily to represent numerals, punctuation marks or prefixes and sufiixes. Moreover the charactors of the several groupsmay be written simultaneously to: print code characters of a given or selected code significance in either one or two colors.

In stenographic writing machines as here-- tofore constructed it has not been practical to employ all of the vowels o'fthe alphabet without encnmberin'g the machine with a diagrammatic in its nature, showing one form of keyboard;

0 which preferably ex number of shift keys, much less to designate the various vowel variations which, in the alphabet, are represented by a single letteri In accordance with my improved system it becomes possible to double the capacity of the machine with respect to the printing of the vowels, when printed separately, inasmuch as each vowel character will represent one sound when printed in one color and will re resent a variant of that sound when prints in another color. In addition to the arrangement shown permits the vowel characters to be written in combinations to supply practicall all the vowel sounds of the language inc uding the diiferent variations 0 the primary vowel sounds. This enables me to represent the exact spelling, sound and pronounciation of any unusual technical words or proper names.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, which show a practical form of mechanism by which my improved system of writing may be adapted to standard stenographic writing machines the same is made as follows:

10 designates the platen of the machine about which the strip of paper 11 is carried to receive printed impressions from the type. The strip of paper 11 is unwound from a reel 12 which is supported on the machine frame 14 and is uided to the platen by the aid of a guide r0 1 15.

The type; bars 16 which carry the typeheads are spring mounted and are connected in any suitable or preferred manner to key bars 18 which are spring mounted in the frame and carry at their. front ends keys 19 which bear the letters or characters of the groups A, B and C. The articular construction and arrangement'o the key levers and type levers and the manner of operating the t pe levers is like that illustrated and described in my rior tipplication for U. S. Letters Patent, erial 0. 736,318, filed on the 12th day of December, 1912, and need not be herein more s ecifically referred" to.

20, 20 designate ribbon guides through i which the two colored ribbon 21 is threaded so as to hold the same in front of the platen in osition to be struck by the type. The sai ribbon guides are carried by the for:- ward ends of curved vertically swinging aryiis 22 that are pivoted at their rear ends to lugs 23 mounted on the machine frame whereby the forward ends ofsaid arms and the rib on guides carried thereby are ca pable of bein raised and lowered relativel to the axis 0 the platen to present the di ferently colored transverse portions of the ribbon to the type. I The said ribbon shifting arms 22 are adaptedto be swung about theirpivots to raise and lower: the ribbon guides and to present different fields of the ribbon to the type by means of a 25 which is pivoted at its lower end shift bar 26 that is pivoted at 27 to the machine frame and is upheld by a spring 28, and said link is connected at its upper end to the horizontal member .29 of a yoke, the arms 30 of which are loosely connected to the ribbon guide arms The shifting bar 27 is provided at its forward end with a shift key 32 which preferably lies just in rear of and slightly above the group of keys C so that it may be readily actuated by a thumb of the operator. It will thus be understood that the ribbon may be shifted without the necessity of the operator changing his hands from their normal key operating position. This arrangement of the ribbon shift key may be used in other writing machines than stenographic writing ma.- chines. The shifting bar is extended through the usual guide comb 33 which limits its movements in both directions and determines the position of the ribbon.

The swinging movement of the ribbon shifting bar is less than that of the type bars so that when a character or combination of characters is to be printed in a color which requires the shifting of the ribbon, the said ribbon is shifted with a less movement of its key bar than that of the key bars for actu ating the type so that the ribbon will always be fully shifted when the type strike the ribbon at the printing line.

To look the ribbon shift operating bar so as to hold the ribbon in its abnormal position as, for instance, to print a number of impressions from the red field of the ribbon, I provide a locking device such as illustrated in Fig. 4. This locking device is made as follows: The key 32 of the ribbon shifting mechanism is carried by the upper end of a stem 35 which is pivoted to the upstanding end 36 of the shift key bar by a pivot pin 37. The key stem is provided on its front edge with a notch 38 adapted to engage the edge of an inwardly extending thin stop plate 39 which is attached to the front member of the machine frame which extends between the central keys of the group C. With this construction, if it is desired to lock the ribbon shifting mechanism the key stem 35 is shifted rearwardly at its upper end when the key is depressed so as to bring the notch thereof into locking engagement with the locking plate 39. \Vhen the key is again shifted to bring the ribbon into normal position the notched stem is released from the locking plate and the controlling spring of the shifting bar restores the shifting mechanism to normal position. The key stem is fitted to the upstanding arm of the bar in any suitable manner to normally hold the stem in normal position as, for instance, by providing a friction fit between the parts. Said ribbon shifting mechanism lock may be used on other types of writing machines than stenographic writing machine.

It will be noted that the ribbon guides are spaced a distanccapart somewhat greater than the total length of a line of type which may be written in combination which includes the type at both side limits of the keyboard or a full line of the type when all the keys are depressed at one time.

I claim as my invention In a stenographic writing machine a ribhon shift comprising a pair of pivotally mounted arms having means to support the ribbon, a shift key lever, a yoke connected to said arms and a link connecting said shift key lever and yoke.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I afiix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses, this 28th day of May, A. .D. 1915.

ALRAH B. EDXVARDS. 

